


The Routine

by moirasrosesroses



Category: Schitt's Creek
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Husbands, M/M, No Plot/Plotless, One Shot, Post-Canon, Routine, Short & Sweet, Skincare, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:41:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26868331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moirasrosesroses/pseuds/moirasrosesroses
Summary: Patrick participates in David's skincare routine
Relationships: Patrick Brewer/David Rose
Comments: 16
Kudos: 93





	The Routine

**Author's Note:**

> This is a completely pointless and plotless piece just meant to be a snapshot of a very sweet and shared experience between them.
> 
> Thanks once again to @cutthechitchatandletmedie! :)

“What is this one?” Patrick asked as he sat on the tub watching David begin his nightly skincare routine.

“Cleanser,” David said, splashing water on his face. 

“Can’t you just use regular soap?” Patrick teased, knowing precisely how David would react. “You can use Dr. Bronner’s for everything.”

“No!” David insisted, almost insulted by the accusation. 

“I mean, that’s what I use,” Patrick pointed to the bar soap in the shower. 

David’s mouth dropped open. “No, no, no! That’s  _ far _ too harsh.” It wasn’t as if David didn’t know that Patrick’s version of self-care and pampering was vastly different than his own, but hearing out loud that Patrick used the bar soap he kept in the shower as the only thing to wash his face was almost comical if it weren’t so absurd. 

“And yet,” Patrick paused with a flourish around his face, “clear skin. Plus, David,” he continued, spurred on by David’s shocked expression. “It’s doctor approved.” He tried his best to contain his laughter at his ridiculous joke. 

David grimaced. “It’s still not good,” he shook his head. 

“But it’s a lot easier,” Patrick grinned.

David gestured wildly as if to shout, “So?” causing Patrick to break out into a deep laughter that echoed in their small bathroom. 

“Come here,” David instructed, taking Patrick by the hand. “Just try it,” David said as Patrick positioned himself at the sink next to him.

“Does that mean you’ll try my skincare routine?” Patrick couldn’t keep the grin contained as he tried to hide it with his hand. 

“A routine constitutes more than one step,” David countered with a grimace. “And only under duress. And even then it’s highly questionable.”

“Okay, David,” Patrick softly laughed as he leaned over the sink to splash water on his face. “Alright, cleanse me,” he said, holding out his hand waiting for David to add soap to it. 

“Incorrect!” David almost shouted as he watched Patrick rub his hands vigorously over his face. “Small, gentle circles!” 

“Does it really matter?” Patrick asked. 

“Did I marry a heathen?” David teased. “Yes, it matters!” 

“Okay, okay,” Patrick conceded and did as David instructed. “Can I wash it off now? Or will I do that wrong too?”

“I guess we’ll see,” David said, teasingly pinching Patrick’s side at the snide comment. David found a washcloth as Patrick leaned over the sink to rinse the cleanser off of his face. 

“Okay, what’s next?” Patrick asked. 

“It’s mask night,” David said, pulling a white tube out of the medicine cabinet. 

Patrick raised his eyebrows. “Ah, okay,” he said. “Can’t say I’ve ever done that before.”

“Oh, I’m aware,” David retorted, squeezing a small dollop onto the tips of his fingers. 

David held up his fingers about to apply it to Patrick’s face, but paused. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, you know,” he said, anxiety seizing his insides. He was suddenly acutely aware of how insistent he could be when sharing an interest. Thoughts of harsh words from previous ex-es overwhelmed him. 

“I want to, David,” Patrick said sincerely. He knew how important David’s routine was to him. He had been worried that he was intruding on time that David liked to keep just for himself, but seeing David’s eyes light up as he explained what each ointment did only made Patrick want to try this more. 

David’s face immediately relaxed and he realized he had been clenching his jaw. “Good!” He tried to sound confident again. “Good, because it’s an important step.” He softly applied a thin layer of the hydrating mask on Patrick’s face avoiding his stubble around his jaw and chin.

“Smiling makes it harder to apply,” David said, barely able to stop his own, happy to be sharing this moment with his husband. 

“Sorry,” Patrick chuckled and cleared his throat. “I’ll try to take this more seriously,” he teased as he attempted to keep his face straight. 

“You fucking better,” David said with a crooked grin and reluctantly removed his hands from Patrick’s face. 

“Oo,” Patrick said looking in the mirror. “I don’t think I’ve ever looked better.”

David laughed softly as he began applying the mask to his own face. 

“I think maybe this should be a permanent look for me,” Patrick continued.

“And cover up that handsome face?” David asked. “That is unacceptable.”

Patrick smiled widely. “Oh!” he said with a shocked expression. “That feels weird.”

“It only has to stay on for about 10 minutes,” David reassured him as he wiped his hands on a washcloth. 

“You can’t touch it,” David scolded teasingly as he watched Patrick poke his cheek. “Hands off.”

“What am I supposed to do for 10 minutes then?” Patrick asked, wrapping his arms around David’s waist. 

“Not touch it,” David said dryly. 

Patrick made an exaggerated frown. “But if I kiss you, that’s not touching it,” he leaned his head back and kissed David almost chastely trying to avoid touching any other part of his face on David’s.

“True,” David said into Patrick’s gentle kiss. 

Patrick smirked. “My routine doesn’t involve any waiting.”

“Again, not a routine,” David corrected. 

“If I started just kissing you here…” Patrick paused and nipped at David’s neck, “every time you used this mask, would that become part of the ‘routine’?”

“It would have to happen more than once and in always the same order,” David muttered, trying not to mess up his own mask by returning the favor and doing the same to Patrick.

“Hm, okay,” Patrick said seriously as if he were taking notes. “So I started with this,” Patrick kissed David again, keeping his hands firmly around David’s waist. “And then I kissed here,” he said lightly, nosing into David’s neck. 

David let out a sharp laugh as Patrick’s day-old stubble scratched his neck. “Patrick!” he snorted. 

Patrick leaned back back with a wide grin. “Sorry.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” David scoffed.

“What is this mask supposed to do?” Patrick poked again at his cheek, seemingly distracted by the sensation of the now dry mask on his skin. 

“It’s a hydrating mask,” David patiently explained, but he could tell by Patrick’s expression it wasn’t enough. “It’s good for your skin,” he said, not wanting to bore Patrick too much. “Now, where were you?”

Patrick smiled widely. “I believe I was here,” he murmured, kissing softly at David’s neck. David pulled Patrick closer in his embrace, reluctant to check the time. 

“I think it’s been 10 minutes,” David squeezed Patrick’s shoulder.

Patrick turned his head sharply to look in the small bathroom mirror. “But it looks so good,” Patrick said seriously. 

“It at least adds some color to your face,” David smirked.

“Oh, ha ha,” Patrick frowned and leaned over the sink. Trying to remember what David had told him to do, he used the tips of his fingers to massage his skin in small, gentle circles. He hadn’t quite understood before, but he could see why David found this so relaxing. 

“You have to pat the towel to dry your face, not slough your skin off!” David clucked as he watched Patrick roughly rub the towel over his skin.

Patrick snorted. “So, I can’t even dry my face right?”

“It’s a night of learning.” David leaned over the sink and took his time removing the mask, savoring how soft his skin felt and the comforting feeling of the warm water washing over his hands and face. Reaching for the towel, he gently patted his face dry. 

As David blinked his eyes open, he saw Patrick gently caressing his cheeks with his fingers. “Feels good, right?” He wanted to come across as confident, as if he knew what he were talking about, but inside he was hoping Patrick wasn’t turned off by the whole affair. He knew Patrick often described himself as “low maintenance” and that he might consider this too much. 

“I have to admit, David,” Patrick nodded, “it kinda does.”

David internally breathed a sigh of relief as he pressed his lips together in a wide smile. “I told you,” he said. “You should really listen to me more.” 

“Sure,” Patrick scoffed sarcastically. “So, what’s next?”

David took a pink bottle from the medicine cabinet and showed it to Patrick. “Toner, which…” he paused, trying not to offend Patrick. “May or may not work for your skin type.”

“David, if you say that this toner doesn’t work for people with pale skin-”

“No, no, no!” David cut him off, clear that Patrick was still somewhat irked by his previous comment. “No, not that. You just have dry skin and I have combination skin so this is meant for my skin type. That’s all.” He delicately thumbed Patrick’s cheek confirming what he always knew. 

Patrick smirked, knowing what David said was not a lie. “Okay, that  _ might _ be true.”

“Mm-hmm,” David nodded, eyes wide. “But for just one night, it will be okay.” He dabbed a small amount onto his hand and rubbed it into his face. Taking Patrick’s hand, he poured a small amount of the liquid on the tips of his fingers. 

Gently rubbing his fingers into his face, his eyes widened at the scent overwhelming his senses. “Watermelon?” he asked, trying to identify it.

“It’s not my favorite toner, but it’s what Elm Grove had and it works,” David defended. 

“I like it,” Patrick shrugged. “So, is that it then?” he asked. 

“Oh,” David simpered, as if pitying Patrick’s innocence. “No, there are five more steps.”

Patrick grinned and glanced down at his feet. “I should have known,” his smile widened. “Okay, so what’s next then?”

David grimaced wondering if he should even do the rest with Patrick. “Rule of thumb is not to try more than one active at a time,” he cautioned. He didn’t want to stop involving Patrick in what he was doing, but his feeling of responsibility was overwhelming. 

Patrick waved his hand dismissively. “This pale skin is tougher than it looks.”

“When your skin falls off tomorrow, I will take no blame,” he grimaced.

“At least with my routine, my skin  _ stays _ on my face,” Patrick barely kept his half-cocked grin contained. 

David shot Patrick an annoyed look. “Again, not a routine.” He took the bottles out of the medicine cabinet and lined them up on the bathroom counter. “Next is retinol,” he explained, again taking Patrick’s hand and dropping only a single drop onto Patrick’s waiting fingers. 

“That’s it?”

“Well,” David started. “You don’t want  _ too _ much.”

Patrick waited until David was applying it to his own face before he started, trying his best to mimic what David was doing. 

“Then hyaluronic acid,” David picked up the small brown bottle. 

Patrick’s eyes widened at the word “acid.” “Who knew a skincare routine could be so dangerous?”

“Wait until you get a chemical peel,” David said absentmindedly. 

“What now?” 

“Kidding!” David laughed lightly, adding a single drop into Patrick’s waiting hand. 

“I don’t want another time like the last time you sent me to a spa,” Patrick said flatly. 

David abruptly stopped his application of the hyaluronic acid and looked at the ceiling so Patrick couldn’t see the smile he was trying so hard to contain. “Don’t worry,” he grinned. “I won’t be making that mistake again.”

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr @moirasrosesroses where I have zero clue what I'm doing.


End file.
